My husband had his 17th radiation treatment today. Only 13 more to go. Yeah! We had an appointment today with his surg. Everything from his angle looks good. Yeah! Also met with the dietician. She has all sorts of good I ideas about soft foods and drinks. Which were very helpful. Yeah! Here's the problem - My husband doesn't want to eat. He has terrible mouth sores and throat is sore. He says it hurts too much. Even water is a struggle. I have explained to him this week what a peg tube is and he didn't really have any questions/comments. My husband is 5'9". Date
of surgery ( 2-27-02) weighed in at 229. Lost 12 pounds after surgery. Last Friday he weighed in at 218. On Tuesday weighed 212. Today weight was 205. That's 13 pounds in a week. I told him I knew during the winter months we had talked about starting a weight loss program but did you have to pick this one? HA! Ha!

My concern is how am I going to get him to eat and how much weight does he lose before they will do a peg? I realize by the todays standard even with the recent weight loss he is still considered to be overweight so is that why the doctors aren't jumping on the peg. Is the thought "Lay off the land first" I don't know. Does any one have any thoughts? Anyone who has gone through this without a peg I would love to hear about your experience with the eating and weight thing. Thanks.

P.S. Saw this on a church sign on the way to the Drs. today. "God didn't promise smooth sailings but a safe landing."

Hi, D3. Some Docs don't want their patients to use a peg tube, some Docs won't treat patients UNLESS they consent to a peg! So I would suggest you ask a direct question of his Doc about this. There are 100's of posts on this site debating the "getting a peg issue". I am on the "pro" side. Did you catch Brian's post tonite about not using cancer as a method of weight loss? It was posted to Anna Marie 07- check it out. Your husband's overall health during treatment will help determine the lenght of his recovery, and adequate nutrition and hydration will govern much of that [plus saving you alot of anguish] Ask more questions of his Docs. Amy in the Ozarks

Amy, After we left the Drs. office we had about two hours before his rad treat. So I took him to Ted Drewes ( It's a famous custard place in St. Louis). I got him a Strawberry shake which had 500 calories in it. He didn't want to eat it but finally did. When we were sitting in the car while I kept coaxing him to finish it off I was thinking to myself what would that lady Amy in the Ozarks do about this? Funny that you should be the first one to respond to my post. Thank you for you insight.

That is funny and you did exactly the right thing- got him in front of some food and coaxed him to get it all down. Yeah! That may become more of a challange as the rad.tx. progresses and that is what you will need to be prepared for. Two of my most favorite grocery stores are in St.Louis on the Hill. Wonder if I'll ever get back to them. Amy

I sure am glad we have "that lady Amy from the Ozarks". . . .especially when my son was having the worst time with getting nutrition of any kind into him! He did not have a PEG but he was a few pounds over his ideal weight when he started (5"10 225lbs) and just the other day he told me that if he had not been a little overweight to begin with, he would definitely have wanted a PEG. He lost a lot of weight (down to 185) and refused even liquids until I borrowed Amy's "Nurse from Hell Hat" and threatened to stuff him into the car and go to the hospital for a PEG. That was great about taking your husband to the restaurant. Maybe the distraction of being in different surroundings ( in addition to your coaxing) helped to get him going. Amy - maybe we all need a "W.W.A.D" bracelet!

D3,

I did not have a Peg and my doc was one that really wanted me to complete the Tx without it. I did but it was really tough as I battled constant nausea that nothing controlled.

Tell your H or have him read this:

YOU MUST repeat MUST drink 48 oz of water each and every day and you MUST drink 2000 calories of food each and every day. Don't short one day thinking you will make it up the next day because YOU WON"T. I could not afford to loose any weight and I still lost 30% of my total body weight. My wife said she saw every bone in my body. I had to go to the ER 3 times during Tx to get IV's and the last time the docs told my wife I was as close to death as they had ever seen. You see I didn't keep up as I was told. I know it's tough and believe me I know EVERYTHING is working against you but this is something you can do for yourself that will make all the difference in the world.

Since your goal is to swallow as little as possible but achieve the best bang for your buck in calories and nutrition, I found this great product that does both.

Try Carnation Instant Breakfast VHC. It has 560 nutritional balanced calories in a 8 oz can and will cut the misery and the time in feedings. You order it thru your pharmacy dept and some have suggested that if you get a prescription for it, your insurance company will pick up the tab. I only pay about $32.00 per 24 can case at Walgreens. That's only $5.00 a day for 2000 calories. Click on this link:

http://www.nestle-nutrition.com/family.aspx?objectID=86E49EB3-BE25-4B16-81D7-235E6F6E5183

Under the PURCHASE PRODUCTS tab, select FIND A PHARMACY NEAR YOU.

Under the PRODUCT NAME pull down, select Carnation Instant Breakfast Lactose Free VHC and fill in your zip code and they will give you a list of pharmacies that carries it.

At the top of that list note the Product Code and NDC Number in case that helps you when you call the store. When I call Walgreens it only takes a day or 2 at the most to get it delivered to the store and they call me when it's in.

You can also order it online but it usually costs more and takes much longer to get.

No, I do not work for the company nor do I get a commission (I wish) but this product made my feeding life during and post treatment much much easier and I am sure it will do the same for you.

Hang in there but please heed my advice.

I made it without the peg and was not an lb overweight when I began. Call me to discuss at 732-687-3518.
Rob J.